Armenian diplomatic missions in SAR are developing various possible options for evacuating representatives of the Armenian community

ArmInfo. The Armenian Embassy in Syria and the Consulate General are developing various possible options for the evacuation of representatives of the
Armenian community, if such a need suddenly arises. This was stated
by the Head of the Department of the Middle East and Africa of the RA
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Armen Melkonyan.

According to the Armenian diplomat, 13 out of 16 families living in
Tel Abyad, one of the most important targets of the Turkish
intervention, left their homes and moved by land to the city of
Hasake. "In the north- east of Syria, 400-420 Armenian families
currently live. They mainly live in the city of Camishli, which
yesterday faced single missile attack. But it should be noted that
the major part of the city is under the control of the Syrian
authorities and I believe that the military invasion will not reach
territories under the control of the SAR authorities, "Melkonyan said
in an interview with Azatutyun radio, while assuring that both the
Armenian embassy in Damascus and the Consulate General in Aleppo are
in constant contact with the leadership of the community, and they
haven't yet asked for evacuation, since they belive there is no the
danger.

At the same time, he emphasized that given the unpredictability of
the further development of the situation, the diplomatic missions of
the Republic of Armenia in Syria are developing all possible options,
and if there is a need for evacuation, it will be done. It should be
noted that on October 9, Turkey launched a large-scale
"anti-terrorist operation" in the areas of Syria east of the
Euphrates River.

According to the Turkish president, the purpose of the operation,
called the "Source of Peace", is to eliminate the threat of terrorism
along the Turkish borders and create a "security zone" where millions
of Syrian refugees will voluntarily return.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington did
not give Turkey the green light to start a military operation in
northern Syria. At the same time, Pompeo supported the decision of
Donald Trump to withdraw American forces from this area. This
decision of the American president has been criticized both in the
United States and outside the country. Donald Trump himself after the
start of the air raids called the operation of Turkey against the
Syrian Kurds a bad idea. Statements condemning the actions of the
Turkish authorities were made by the Armenian Foreign Ministry and
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The Armenian Foreign Ministry
emphasized the unacceptability of Turkey's military invasion of
northeast Syria and called on the international community to take
efforts to curb these actions by the Turkish authorities, which will
further destabilize the situation in the region. The EU also
condemned Turkey's actions in Syria. And in the US Senate, a bill has
already been submitted, which involves the imposition of sanctions
against Turkey.